Philosophy and the Joyful Life

Tag Archives: Fallacies

Even though I don’t engage in pro-life campaigning, in expressing my philosophical views I’m frequently berated with the comment as a man I’m not allowed to have an opinion on abortion. Occasionally this is made as a polite suggestion, but the overall impression I get is that it is used as an anti-intellectual manoeuvre to try to shut down critical enquiry on this ideologically-charged topic.

In any case it is simply a ridiculous argument. Firstly it’s an ad hominem. There’s obviously no logical relationship between the individual who happens to be articulating an argument and the soundness of that argument. Read the rest of this entry →

Most people have double standards about some things such as sport, the arts or their job- this is unfortunate but such irrational behaviour is a inevitable part of human life. Yet when people exhibit double standards on issues of life and death this is a very serious matter, as we saw in Part 1.

{Unlike my previous foray into applied ethics this is a piece of journalism rather than an academic essay, so it is not intended to be comprehensive. I only hope that what I say is stimulating and perhaps challenging.}

Most people have double standards about some things such as sport, the arts or their job- this is unfortunate but such irrational behaviour is a inevitable part of human life. Yet when people exhibit double standards on issues of life and death this is a very serious matter.

{Unlike my previous foray into applied ethics this is a piece of journalism rather than an academic essay, so it is not intended to be comprehensive. I only hope that what I say is stimulating and perhaps challenging.} Read the rest of this entry →